The Latter-day Saints Have No Occasion to Fear

(President of the Liberty Stake of Zion) ¶

My brethren and sisters, I earnestly solicit an interest in your faith and prayers during the short time I shall endeavor to speak to you. The task of speaking is one of the difficult tasks which I have to perform in my ecclesiastical work. I love to work in the Church, love to go out as a ward teacher, and to labor as best I can among the Latter-day Saints, but whenever a call similar to this comes to me, I feel that it is utterly impossible for me, unless the Lord will listen to my prayers and the prayers of those who listen to me, to say anything which will be of benefit to the people. And when I realize that the hundreds of people who are here this morning have come many miles, some of them, to hear the word of the Lord, I am filled with fear and trembling. ¶

I have learned this, however, in my experience, that the soul that hungers and thirsts after righteousness is always satisfied, and you, my brethren and sisters, who have come here with that spirit, with the desire to be renewed in your faith, to be built up and encouraged in your efforts to serve the Almighty, will receive that for which you came. That promise has been made by the Almighty, and is manifest so often that no argument is necessary to convince the Latter-day Saints of its truthfulness. ¶

I was impressed this morning by the prayer which was offered, first by the choir and this congregation, and then by our worthy brother, Milando Pratt. I am sure those of you who entered into the spirit of the hymn which was sung realize that we were offering a united prayer to the Almighty for ourselves and for the world. I shall take the liberty of reading the last verse of the hymn which was sung: ¶

"When the earth begins to tremble, Bid our fearful thoughts be still. When thy judgments spread destructions, Keep us safe on Zion's Hill." ¶

I can think of no more proper prayer to be offered to the Almighty this morning by the Latter-day Saints than the prayer contained in this hymn. Certainly the earth is beginning to tremble and the destructions and the judgments of the Lord are spreading in the earth, and it seems a very fitting prayer that the Latter-day Saints should offer that we may keep safe on Zion's hill. ¶

In the midst of all these fearful things that are happening in the world today, the Latter-day Saints have occasion to look forward with calmness and patience and faith to the future. More than any other people in the world today, we know that the Lord, the Almighty, the Creator of this universe, is guiding and directing the affairs of the world. These things have been predicted. A great many of you brethren have been out in the world and have preached that the very things which are now happening should occur unless the world would repent and turn a listening ear to the gospel of peace, the gospel of salvation, which the Almighty in his goodness has restored. We have been preaching these things for many years. Many hundreds and thousands of the elders have borne this testimony to the world, and now we are permitted to see the fulfilment of the message, the prediction which it was our duty to deliver to the world. But we, the Latter-day Saints, have no occasion to fear, unless our own lives need looking into. ¶

I was impressed with the thought expressed by President Joseph F. Smith, I think that it was in the June conference, Young Men's and Young Ladies' conference, though of that I am not absolutely sure. He made a statement to this effect. Many people are fearful, and I am asked frequently what is going to be the outcome of the terrible occurrences which we see in the world today. He said: "the only thing I have to do, and the only thing the Latter-day Saints have to do is to live their religion, to serve the Lord in the proper spirit, and all will be well with them." I had been a little pessimistic up to that moment, had been a little fearful as to the final outcome of this terrible struggle, not that I felt it affected us particularly, but I looked on the dark side of the situation, and I felt that I had occasion to thank the Lord that I heard the testimony of the prophet of the Almighty on this subject, and no fear has been in my heart from that day to this, except the fear that we may not be able to so order our lives that we can claim the protection and the blessings of our Father in heaven. ¶

I know that the hand of the Lord is over this people. I know that if we will pray to him as Latter-day Saints know how to pray, the prayer that this hymn contains, "when the earth begins to tremble," we have no need to fear. If we will observe the laws and the commandments which the Almighty has given us, if we will be prayerful and humble, the Almighty must surely "keep us safe on Zion's hill." Did you ever think of the power and the confidence that prayer gives to people. We, I believe, are strong as ordinary mortals are. The Latter-day Saints have as much physical strength and moral courage as any people in the world. We are just as able to meet difficulties and hardships and trials as any people that lives on the face of the earth, and in addition to that we have the reserve strength, the power which comes from faith in the Almighty, the assurance that we can go to him in the hour of distress, lay our burdens upon him and know that we will be relieved. Did you ever stop to think what a source of power and strength such faith will give to a people? That is the only thing that enabled the people to cross the plains and come into this country, forbidding and desolate as it was at that time; but they knew the Lord was with them, and you cannot whip a people, you cannot conquer a people that has that unconquerable faith, because when disaster overtakes them, they acknowledge the hand of the Lord in it, possibly feeling that it has been brought upon themselves by their own misconduct. But they go to the Lord in humility and pray for strength to bear their burdens manfully and courageously; as in times of prosperity, they thank the Lord for the blessings they enjoy. You cannot conquer a people with that sort of feeling. It is utterly, absolutely impossible. So I repeat, the Latter-day Saints can look to the future, if they will only order their lives in accordance with the principles of salvation which have been revealed, with absolute confidence, with the assurance that all will come out well. ¶

Our hearts naturally go out to our fellow men who are suffering, those who are hungry and cold, those who are suffering mentally because of the loss of their homes or their dear ones. We can sympathize with them. We can shed tears of sympathy for our fellow men, but that feeling does not necessarily have to be mingled with fear for ourselves. I think we should pray for the world, for those who are in distress. ¶

This thing touches me, I believe, as closely as anybody. For six years I labored among the German people. I have had them give me their last crust of bread. I have had them give me their bed, and make a couch for themselves on the floor, or sit up in a chair, not that I was willing to take these things from them, but they felt that I and my companions were messengers of the Almighty, and they felt honored to do these things for us. I have advised the Saints in Germany, time and time again, as have all the other missionaries who have labored there, to be loyal to their country, to be loyal to their nation; and now see the situation! Your boys and mine are going out and trying to take their lives, and very properly so; that is, I mean, when I say properly, we cannot do anything else! We have got to be loyal to the United States. But a person who has received at the hands of the German people, the poor Latter-day Saints and the honest investigators in that land, the blessings and courtesies which have come to him from them, cannot help but feel sorrowful and downcast in his heart when he sees the sufferings that are coming upon them. ¶

I pray the Almighty to lighten the burden of the honest-hearted people in the world. I pray that the Lord will give success to the armies of the United States and the Allies, that this thing may be terminated, speedily and properly. I pray that the spirit of faith and prayer may rest upon the body of the Latter-day Saints, that we may grow in grace and in faith, with the assurance that God lives, ever burning in our hearts, and become stronger from day to day, that we may all know, every Latter-day Saint, that the Almighty stands at the helm, and that he is directing this work, and that he will make it triumph in the earth, because he has promised to do so. That these blessings may be ours, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶